president, Rev. E. O. Thayer, A. M. Three of these are connected with the Gammon School of Theology,1 and eleven with the industrial department. The catalogue of 1886-87 shows an attendance upon all the branches of Clark University of three hundred and twenty-two students. There are five literary societies in the institution, prominent among which is the theological and debating society of the Gammon School of Theology. SPELMAN SEMINARY. This institution, designed especially for the instruction of colored women and girls, was opened in the basement of the Friendship Baptist Church, in the city of Atlanta, April 11, 1881, by the present principals, Misses Sophia B. Packard and Hattie E. Giles, who were commissioned by the Woman's American Baptist Home Mission Society of Boston. There the work of education was carried on for nearly two years. The school began with eleven pupils. The aggregate number in at tendance during the seven years of its existence has been over 3,580 pupils, six hundred and nine names appearing on the 1887-88 register. The faculty at present comprises twenty-seven teachers, beside assistants; and the course of study embraces preparatory, normal, and scientific or higher normal courses. Musical and industrial departments are also connected with the seminary, and a training school for nurses, established in 1886, is among the advantages which it affords. The present property of the school, which is valued at over eighty thousand dollars, consists of several acres of land, four double houses, Rockefeller Hall, and the large brick building which is now being erected to take the place of Union Hall, destroyed by fire in June of the past year (1887). THE PAINE INSTITUTE.2 "They (the colored Methodist Episcopal churches) have no institution under their management for the education of those who are to occupy their pulpits and preside in their schools. Their preachers and teachers, if educated at all, must for the most part be educated by those who are not in sympathy with their organization. If they are to make any progress, or even to maintain their existence, they must provide for the education of those who are to take charge of their schools and religious congregations. They have neither the money to establish schools, nor the men competent to conduct them; and they look to us for aid.” Such was the language of the committee on education in the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. It was to meet the necessities of the case, and to carry out the provision as introduced by the General Conference of 1882, that the Paine Institute This school has also eight special lecturers. "This school was named in honor of Rev. Moses U. Paine, of Iowa, to whom it is indebted for an endowment fund of twenty-five thousand dollars, EDUCATION IN GEORGIA. was organized. Located at Augusta, it was opened in January, 1884, and is now in the fifth year of its operations. Rev. Morgan Calloway, D. D., vice-president of Emory College, was its first president. The present incumbent in that position is Rev. George Williams Walker, A. M. He is assisted by four teachers. The course of study comprises a normal, a theological, and an industrial department; the first occu pies four years and the second three, while the industrial department affords instruction in printing and carpentry. There is also a music class in the school. The register for the session just closing (1887-88) shows an attendance at the institute of one hundred and thirty-three pupils of both sexes. Of these, one hundred and three are pursuing normal, and twenty-four theological courses. The class in music numbers fifteen. The property of the institution consists of ten acres of good land and three buildings; one of these is the home for the teachers, another the home of the matron, while the third has been arranged for class-rooms and a dormitory for boys. MORRIS-BROWN COLLEGE. This college, as it is called, is principally indebted for its existence to the African Methodist Episcopal Church of the State of Georgia. In 1880 the ministers of that organization, realizing the necessity for an institution which would not only educate and prepare their young men for the ministry and their young women for Christian work, but which would also prove an industrial training school for both sexes, deter mined upon the erection of the Morris Brown College. In February of the following year the present site, overlooking the city of Atlanta, was purchased; and in 1884 the foundation of the east wing of the college was laid. It was completed in November, 1885, at a cost of nine thou sand dollars. Thirty-five hundred dollars were expended in the pur chase of the grounds; and it is said that about eighteen thousand dollars in addition will be needed to finish and thoroughly equip the building. On the 15th of October, 1885, the institution was opened to students, and the attendance during its first session was one hundred and seven. The present number of pupils (session of 1887-88) is two hundred and eleven, of whom one hundred and nine are males and one hundred and two are females. The curriculum consists of a college preparatory and a normal course, the former occupying three and the latter four years, and of an English course. The faculty is composed of three teachers, Rev. E. W. Lee, B. A., being principal. Rev. W. J. Gaines, recently ap pointed bishop, is the general superintendent, and it is to his efforts, perhaps, more than to those of any one else that the establishment of the Morris-Brown College is due. CONCLUSION. Thus have we endeavored, clearly and faithfully, to convey an im pression of the opportunities afforded for the acquisition in Georgia, both of a common school and of a higher education. We have attempted to revive the recollection of the schools of limited means and partial courses which ministered to the instruction of youth prior to the Revolution, and just after the close of that period of distraction and poverty. We have traced the development and decline of the poor school system. We have considered at length the inauguration and the present status of the public school system. We have noted the opportunities afforded for the acquisition of higher education in the University of the State of Georgia and its branches, in various denominational universities and colleges, and in sundry institutions inaugurated under the auspices of private benefactions. We have not omitted to mention all charitable institutions, and colleges designed to facilitate studies in law, medicine, theology, technology, science, and art. In a word, we have been careful, so far as our inquiry could ascertain, to ignore the mention of no institution, however limited, the mission of which is to promote the intellectual development of the community. Upon a review of the whole subject, we find cause for congratulation that Georgia, in her educational advantages, has made such signal progress. Opportunities for acquiring superior learning are abundant and satisfactory; while through the generous provision made by the State for the support of her common schools,-supplemented by acts empowering cities and populous districts by local taxation to increase their numbers and render certain their sustentation,-the means of acquiring an elementary education requisite for the needs of every-day life are placed within the reach of all. Education in Georgia is now practically free, and illiteracy should nowhere exist. In the benefits of these educational advantages both races participate equitably. Each year bears testimony to the progress made in the intellectual training of the masses, and brings joy to the heart of the philanthropist. When we reflect upon the condition of affairs a quarter of a century ago; when we remember the embarrassing questions which arose upon the conclusion of the Civil War; when we recall the general penury which pervaded the land, and the lack of money for the inauguration and sustentation of schemes of general benefit, and contrast the present attitude of things 11409-No. 4-11 153 and the development which has occurred, we are surprised and delighted at the tokens of benevolence, of order restored, of the recognition of relative rights, of domestic peace, of mental, moral, and political ad vancement, and of intellectual progress, which confront us on every hand. Among the factors which have brought about this happy con dition, none is so potent as the liberal provision made at the general charge for the inauguration and good support of common schools, and for rendering a university education within the limits of the Common wealth practically free to all who desire to avail themselves of it. In the coat-of-arms of Georgia appear three emblematic columns, in scribed respectively with the words, "Wisdom, Justice, and Modera tion," and supporting an arch upon which is engraven, in bold relief the word "Constitution." Rightly judging that the intelligence of the citizen and the education of the masses are indispensable prerequisites to the comprehension and maintenance of wise, just, and moderate views necessary for the under standing and conservation of all constitutional rights and privileges the General Assembly and the people of Georgia have made, and are making, most praiseworthy efforts to promote the general good, and render learning, both primary and liberal, popular and accessible within the limits of the Commonwealth.' Augusta, Ga., June 11, 1888. CHARLES EDGEWORTH JONES. |